Spring has finally arrived and I have been spending countless hours each day enjoying the garden.  This year I am not even a grumpy weed puller I am so happy to just be able to finally get out there.  Compared to last year the garden is a bit over a month behind on its growth because of the cold spring temperatures.  However, I am not going to complain because my garden has finally started to explode with color and I am enjoying every minute of it.

The Primrose…

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Just about every dish tastes better with fresh herbs and there’s no better way to get fresh herbs than to grow them yourself.  They are the quintessential easy to grow plant.  They can be grown in a flower bed, a vegetable patch or a pot.  Many of them can be started from seed, and do not need a lot of care to thrive.  Once you start growing them, you will be growing more and more wondering why you waited so long. Do not be afraid, you will be pleasantly surprised with just a…

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I'm headed out to the elementary school this afternoon to build 4 worm bins with the kids. We are repurposing previously loved ice chests,and I will be relocating a mass of red wigglers from my highly prolific worm bin.Not that the efficacy has anything to do with me! Knowing the kids are excited about this project diminishes my "seperation anxiety". I spoke with the kind soul that shared some of her…

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A friend of mine had 10 big bags of chemical free grass clippings that have been sitting in garbage bags since he mowed his lawn last August.  He asked me if I'd like them for my compost and I said yes. I believe that is a DO. Yes? No?

 

But what about turning them into my 2 year old veggie garden (which was low in nitrogen when I last tested it) is that a DON'T because of the potential for seeds and weeds?

 

I was surprised to see that a few bags contained green…

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Most people are surprised by the sight of plants growing out of the side of a Phytopod.  We all know that weeds and other flighty seeds can germinate and flourish in the cracks of a wall or on a rooftop. Well, many of the lettuces and greens we eat in salads these days are what we used to call weeds in the days when mass production and herbicides had hegemony.  Growing vertical is a capability of almost all plants however! The rules are that roots will grow down and shoots and leaves will…

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A great garden design will have permanent pathways, and stepping stones…for walking and stepping. If garden beds, flower and vegetable, are…

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Eating from the garden is so important to our health.  I want to share with you, this video at youtube done by a doctor about brain health and more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KLjgBLwH3Wc&noredirect=1

Makes you want to get that garden in for sure this year!

Fall Planting in the South East

It's a beautiful day in North Florida today. Temperatures were in the

60's this morning and I don't think we've hit 90 yet. With cooler temps

comes the urge to resume gardening. The community garden in Wellborn

is plowed and ready for fall planting. A list of what we'll be planting

this weekend can be found at the end of this post.

I moved… Continue

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Okay so here's whats up. I have attempted to plant spinach 3 times now this year and all three times as soon as the spinach makes an appearance something comes along and eats it. Continue

Each January, I sit down and write out a plan for my vegetable garden. I decide what I am going to grow for each garden and what new vegetables I am going to try. I have been planing a garden for 11 years. This blog will document my celebration of my "dozenth" year. Continue

Last year was my first year planting a vegetable garden. Some things were successful and others not so much. I need some help on what to plant in a raised garden. This is a photo of my garden last year.

I have had the privilege of coming to know Mel Bartholomew, the creator of the Square Foot Gardening method and author of the book."The All New Square Foot Gardening" He is a kind and gentle man. He lives here in Utah . He has a passion for teaching his gardening method and has established a non profit organization which engages in humanitarian efforts to teach gardening and self sufficiency around the world.

I am happy to say that my new business,… Continue

I bought my first earth box a few years ago. Since then i have planted it several times and I'm always amazed at the speed at which things grow, and the crop yield from vegetable plants, tomatoes and peppers mainly. .

I was fascinated by its hybrid hydroponic idea, and wondered why the earth box folk, had never modified and enhanced their original creation. So I decided to try some experiments with some inexpensive plastic pots, within pots.



Wow.. i was on to something! It was… Continue

The veggie garden has changed so much since my last blog. We have begun to eat our lettuces (actually we are on the third cutting this week), and some of our onions. We mange a handful of strawberries every morning. It has been just wonderful!



We harvested or first two big beautiful chioggia beets this morning and the girls just ate them up! It is so wonderfully rewarding to start something from a tiny seed and feed your children. Even more wonderful is the fact that they see from… Continue

Yesterday while weeding my fledgling veggie garden I noticed some tiny, and I mean tiny, baby carrots and beets peeking up at me. I am so excited...even today, I had to look at them a few more times. I was afraid I had planted the seeds too shallow or too deep or something. But there they are! WOO HOO!



I also found two tiny pea plants and a couple of spinach plants had popped up as well. YAY!



Laugh if you like but keep in mind this is my very first veggie garden and I am… Continue

Well, I can at least say we have potatoes:

and we have cabbage and broccoli

and we've managed some little baby lettuce

Not much action with pea, spinach, carrots or beets. hhhhmmm.... Not sure what's up there. It's been nearly 14 days and I see no movement. I guess we'll see. I was really hoping to grow… Continue